ABC News suspended its chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross late Saturday a day after his shoddy reporting during early coverage of Michael Flynn’s guilty plea in the Russia investigation.
“We deeply regret and apologize for the serious error we made yesterday,” an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement. “The reporting conveyed by Brian Ross during the special report had not been fully vetted through our editorial standards process. As a result of our continued reporting over the next several hours ultimately we determined the information was wrong and we corrected the mistake on air and online.
It is vital we get the story right and retain the trust we have built with our audience – these are our core principles. We fell far short of that yesterday. Effective immediately, Brian Ross will be suspended for four weeks without pay.”
Ross accepted his suspension:
My job is to hold people accountable and that's why I agree with being held accountable myself.
— Brian Ross (@BrianRoss) December 3, 2017
President Trump also tweeted about it tonight:
Congratulations to @ABC News for suspending Brian Ross for his horrendously inaccurate and dishonest report on the Russia, Russia, Russia Witch Hunt. More Networks and “papers” should do the same with their Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017